Vinegar Eels?!

cranbear likes raw organic apple cider vinegar mixed with water. “Today I mixed my usual batch, and after drinking half the glass noticed that it had little super short squiggly lines floating around inside of it, and all of them were writhing, moving on their own!” says a horrified cranbear. “It’s not the mother—there were parts of that floating around too, and I know what it looks like. These were super-thin, clear-colored lines about a millimeter long or so, floating vertically, and swinging their little bodies from side to side. Creepy! Is that normal?”

Vinegar vats occasionally become infected with “vinegar eels,” says danionavenue: small, transparent nematode worms a few millimeters long. While aesthetically horrifying, they’re not harmful. “They may be destroyed by heating the vinegar to about 50°C, followed by fining or filtration after cooling. Or you can just leave them as a talking point for your guests—they will liven up any salad dressing!” says danionavenue.